“The people of the Central Valley deserve a representative who will fight for their best interests and to make their community safer, and Deputy District Attorney Andrew Janz has a strong record of doing just that. Andrew’s focus on the issues that matter most to the district, including clean water and job creation, and his proven ability to capitalize on Devin Nunes out-of-touch and questionable actions, makes this a race to watch in November,”said DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján.
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To: Interested Parties
From: Amanda Sherman, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: June 5th, 2018
RE: The Case Against Rep. Devin Nunes
It is crystal clear that Rep. Devin Nunes’ number one priority is protecting Donald Trump. Instead of focusing on solving problems hardworking people in California’s 22nd Congressional District have, like access to clean water, lack of jobs or rising poverty, taxpayers are footing the bill for Devin Nunes to spend his time promoting strange conspiracy theories and protecting Donald Trump.
Between an aggressive, almost pathological avoidance of the people he is supposed to be representing and his support of a toxic Republican Tax Bill and health care repeal that targeted California families, patience for Nunes’ behavior is wearing thin. Having a representative who spends his days talking about politics that have nothing to do with voters and their bottom lines, is clearly not a recipe for success.
Prosecutor Andrew Janz, on the other hand, has spent day after day fighting for the people of the Central Valley and making his community safer. Growing up in Visalia, in the middle of the 22nd District, Andrew knows what challenges people face and has a plan for addressing top issues, including access to clean water. Andrew has made a point to be visible and accessible, meeting with families, seniors, and farmers, and building strong local grassroots support for his campaign.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Headline: Nunes avoids constituents, facts solutions to Valley problems [The Fresno Bee, 3/23/18]
Headline: Nunes opponent raises $1 million in first quarter [CNN, 3/28/18]
Headline: Rep. Devin Nunes is no longer ‘safe’ in his race for re-election, forecaster says [The Fresno Bee, 4/27/18]
Headline: Winery Part-owned By Devin Nunes Sued Over Cocaine and Prostitutes Yacht Party [Newsweek, 5/24/18]
Rep. Devin Nunes: Politics Over CA-22
Inaccessible to People of the Central Valley
Devin Nunes can appear on Fox News multiple times a week to talk about his latest conspiracy theory, but can’t take the time to talk to the people who pay his salary. During an interview with his local paper, The Fresno Bee, Nunes was asked about holding town halls and had an epic meltdown, dismissing the idea of town halls and proceeding to call the paper a “left-wing rag” for even asking. This disdain for being responsible to Californians is not an isolated incident: 7 times he blew off a local Latino group’s meeting request, his office in Clovis appears to never be open, and people had to talk to an empty chair instead of him after he dodged local requests for a public meeting.
Voted for Tax Scam at Expense of Californians
Nunes’ vote for the GOP Tax Scam that attacked Californian’s while giving 83% of the benefits to the wealthiest 1% of Americans and explode the deficit by $1.5 trillion is a quintessential example of how little the people of the Central Valley factor into his decisions. When his constituents stood outside his office warning that the Tax Scam was bad for California, Nunes didn’t listen. In keeping with his standard procedure of ignoring local concerns, he failed to protect a key State and Local Tax Deduction that a significant number of his constituents claimed and saw over $1 billion in federal tax relief from.
Endangered Health Care for Families & Seniors
The pleas of Nunes’ constituents for him to protect their access to affordable health care fell on deaf ears. Nunes voted for Paul Ryan’s health care bill that would have taken health insurance away from 52,800 people in California’s 22nd Congressional District, raised their premiums, imposed an age tax on seniors, and done nothing to lower the price of prescription drugs. If that wasn’t enough, his support of the GOP Tax Scam could lead to a to a 17.8% healthcare premium increase in California this year.
THE PATH TO VICTORY
While Devin Nunes remains focused on protecting President Trump and pedaling his political agenda full of conspiracy theories, Andrew Janz has been traveling the district, attending meetings, and hearing from the people of the Central Valley about the need to get their voice back in Congress.
Andrew Janz’s impressive profile as a prosecutor and lifelong resident of the district has allowed him to build momentum and put together a strong operation. In the first fundraising quarter of this year, Janz raised over $1 million, an impressive and noteworthy amount. He has also been able to start communicating early, and has been running TV ads for four weeks further introducing himself to voters.
The fact that Janz has such a strong operation and Nunes is facing tough questions over a scandal involving his winery, drugs, and prostitutes and has shown he has increasingly lost touch with the district makes this a race to watch in November.